1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an image forming device and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for skew adjustment in an image forming device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Scanners are used to scan a target and create scanned image data which can be displayed on a computer monitor, which can be used by a computer program, which can be printed, which can be faxed, etc. Scanned data may be saved to memory or a magnetic or optical drive, or other fixed or removable memory device. Scanning devices may be packaged in a stand-alone housing or as part of an all-in-one device, including a printing module to perform scanning as well as standard copying functions.
Scanners typically include a housing aperture defined by an edge wherein a platen is located. A target document is positioned on the platen for scanning of the text or image by a scan bar. Depending on the positioning of the scanbar relative to the platen, the platen may be transparent where the scanbar is beneath the platen or may be solid where the scan bar is above the platen, which will have a transparent section to allow for the scan operation.
Common flatbed scanners consist of an image capture device, a mechanical drive system, and a platen glass. The document to be scanned is placed on the platen glass and the mechanical drive system moves the image capture device from one end of the document to the other thereby capturing the image. The mechanical drive system typically includes a metal sliding guide rod to help guide the image capture device across the flatbed scanner.
The mechanical drive system of a flatbed scanner often has variations or tolerances that can cause the image capture device to move slightly skewed compared to the original document. Further, the image capture device usually consists of a sensor array of one or more sensor lines and additional optical components on a frame. The sensor line(s) can be skewed to the frame despite efforts made during manufacturing to minimize the skew during the image capture device assembly process. The result scanned image can appear skewed either due to one of the two factors above, or a combination of the two.
Thus, there is still a need for an innovation that will allow the imaging device to be adjusted to eliminate skew when scanning originals. It is desirable for the adjustment to be made during the manufacturing assembly process as well as the capability to make the adjustment manually after assembly.